


Marsupial

by fadedink



Series: Days of Christmas - 2014 [28]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-31
Updated: 2014-12-31
Packaged: 2018-03-04 20:51:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3089000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fadedink/pseuds/fadedink
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chuck's a 'shifter and Raleigh is his mode of transportation from time to time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Marsupial

**Author's Note:**

> The 28th Day of Christmas for [neverreallythoughtaboutthefuture](http://neverreallythoughtaboutthefuture.tumblr.com) because she wanted something based on [this picture](http://neverreallythoughtaboutthefuture.tumblr.com/post/75842354517/omfg-i-just-found-this-picture-on-my-dash-and).

"You're a furnace like this," Raleigh said, but he smiled.

Chuck just grumbled and shifted closer, pressing his cold nose to Raleigh's neck. A tiny shiver rippled over Raleigh's skin as claws scraped over his skin when they hooked into his sweater. He made a mental note to start wearing a t-shirt as one round ear flicked against his chin.

"It's true," Raleigh continued as he maneuvered the hall, shifting his grip on the undersized koala in his arms as one hand started to stroke over thick fur. "I'm pretty sure that the smaller you are, the hotter you are. I'm sweating here."

Lifting his head, Chuck regarded Raleigh with flat black eyes, made another grumbling noise, and yawned right in his face.

"Oh, am I boring you, your highness?" Raleigh snorted out a laugh and shifted Chuck to one hip as he turned the last corner before the Mess Hall. "You know, if you shifted back, we could have an actual conversation."

In response, Chuck just huffed out a breath, put his head on Raleigh's shoulder, and closed his eyes.

***

"You know, you can put him down when he's like that," Herc said, eyeing Raleigh and Chuck as they settled across from him.

"I don't mind," Raleigh said and meant it. When Chuck was in his koala form, he was softer, more agreeable. Far less aggressive. And he thought nothing of falling asleep as Raleigh toted him around the Shatterdome.

"Lazy bludger," Herc muttered and reached over to poke Chuck in the ribs.

Chuck snarled and turned to snap at the offending fingers. Herc laughed.

Raleigh just rolled his eyes and scratched behind Chuck's ears until he was rewarded with a contented purr. "Sometimes I think you do it on purpose."

Herc just winked and went back to his food.

***

Chuck rarely let Raleigh see him shift. Something about it potentially unsettling him. Raleigh stopped asking after a few months.

Now, though, Chuck was comfortable enough to fall asleep while Raleigh carried him around. It was something that wouldn't have happened in the beginning. Herc said it was progress.

Raleigh wasn't sure about that, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he just enjoyed the nights where they fell asleep together on his bunk watching movies, Chuck curled on his stomach, followed by waking up to a very human Chuck sprawled half on top of him.

The fact that Chuck trusted him enough to shift in his sleep was definitely an improvement.

***

They were on their way to Scramble Alley when it happened. The first of the new Jaeger prototypes had arrived the previous day and Chuck had mentioned checking it out and getting a look at the upgrades.

But so far, he'd refused to shift back to human form.

And now he was asleep, perched comfortably on Raleigh's hip.

"Guess he really does like you," Tendo commented as he fell into step with Raleigh.

"Yeah, guess so." Raleigh smiled and opened his mouth to say something else, but the words flew out of his head when he staggered, thrown off balance by the abrupt shift in weight.

"Whoa, careful there," Tendo said, grabbing Raleigh's arm to steady him. "Okay, that's far more of Chuck Hansen than I ever needed to see."

"Dear God, he's fucking heavy," Raleigh grunted, trying to adjust his grip on the now very human – and very naked – Chuck so that he wasn't gripping something indecent for public display. "Get your phone out."

"Why?"

"Because," Raleigh said, finally managing to shift his hands so they were anywhere they shouldn't be, "I'm going to need blackmail material."

***

"I can't believe you let Elvis take a picture," Chuck grumbled, still miffed at Raleigh as they crawled into bed that night.

"I can't believe you shifted back while I was carrying you," Raleigh retorted, giving Chuck a dark look. "You're really heavy, did you know that?"

"Piss off, Becket," Chuck said. He shifted to make room for Raleigh and immediately curled against him when Raleigh slipped under the covers. "I was asleep."

"That makes it better? You were naked," Raleigh pointed out as he tangled their legs together.

"Yeah, well," Chuck sniffed, throwing an arm across Raleigh waist and nuzzling at his neck, "means I trust you."

"I know," Raleigh whispered into Chuck's hair. "I love you, too."


End file.
